tormented 1 of 2

adjective

as in tortured

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tormented

2 of 2

verb

past tense of torment
as in plagued
to cause persistent suffering to he was tormented by nightmares about the accident

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of tormented
Verb
The other was a decent man constantly being tormented by God in order to test his faith. — Chuck Lorre, Vanity Fair, 7 Oct. 2026 The Eagles, of course, have tormented the league with that play. — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 25 Sep. 2026 The series follows a group of Los Angeles teenagers in the 1980s who are being tormented by a serial killer known as the Trawler. — Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 18 Sep. 2026 Parents of children murdered at Sandy Hook in 2012 were tormented for years by conspiracy theorists who claimed their kids hadn’t really died. — Elle Reeve, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2026 About a month after that, the financier, tormented by fears of further investigation, died of apoplexy. — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2026 Leite is one week removed from giving Angel Reese and Howard fits in Atlanta, while Astier has tormented the Fever duo of Clark and Aliyah Boston. — Sabreena Merchant, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026 Saeed and Nadia live in an unnamed country tormented by civil war—and meanwhile, there are rumors of mysterious doors, portals that lead to other places. — Chloe Benjamain, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2026 Nosferatu In 2024 Depp appeared in Robert Eggers’s Nosferatu as Ellen Hutter, a young woman tormented and nearly possessed by the film’s titular vampire. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tormented
  1. tortured
  2. plagued
  3. frustrated
  4. persecuted
  5. harassed
  6. afflicted
  7. harried
  8. besieged
Adjective
  • Earlier works tinging with an obscure kind of darkness that hinted at tortured psychological states have all but disappeared from her work and living quarters in lieu of an elegant old world charm.
    — Francesca Aton, ARTnews.com, 29 Sep. 2026
  • But this leads to secrets revealed, lies told and tortured confrontations, not just with others but most intensely with himself.
    — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of tortured
Verb
  • They were plagued by mistakes throughout the first four games.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Inadequate funding and the resultant low pay for correctional officers, when compared to other law enforcement agencies, have plagued the bureau for years.
    — Scott Peyton, Washington Post, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of plagued
Adjective
  • The 22-year-old was visibly frustrated and began to yell at his teammates.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Gen Z has become decidedly frustrated with the often prohibitive costs of higher education.
    — Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of frustrated
Verb
  • Those governments provide assurances that people won’t be persecuted or tortured, federal attorneys said.
    — Lindsay Whitehurst, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Also, some immigration cases involve people seeking asylum because they are being persecuted by a foreign government and releasing a person’s full name could be considered sensitive or even dangerous.
    — Laura Tillman, Hartford Courant, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of persecuted
Adjective
  • Others were placed under house arrest, harassed or subject to extensive surveillance, or had their passports confiscated, according to prior NPR reporting and the findings of the United Nations and rights groups.
    — Emily Feng, NPR, 17 May 2026
  • For years, Christian clergy who live and work in Jerusalem have reported being frequently spat on, harassed and even physically attacked by Israeli extremists.
    — Yuliya Talmazan, NBC news, 1 May 2026
Definition of harassed
Verb
  • Love contains the seeds of its own destruction—the cruelty and self-absorption that turns the afflicted against one another, and themselves.
    — Merve Emre, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2026
  • While the epicenter was located in Nantou County in central Taiwan, serious damage afflicted residents across the island as roads buckled, bridges collapsed and landslides destroyed everything in their path.
    — Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of afflicted
Adjective
  • Merritt Wever does typically excellent work as a harried producer and malfunctioning moral compass on To Catch a Predator.
    — Joe Reid, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Indeed, the footage of the harried production staff trying to keep the show going on from the office at Bray Studios where the shoot is happening sometimes plays like a vintage workplace comedy but with a dark undertow.
    — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of harried
Verb
  • The settlers who carried out the attack in Jalud overnight are the same group who besieged the home of a Palestinian-American in the neighboring village of Qusra last month, local residents say.
    — Zeena Saifi, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2026
  • There has been a spate of Israeli settler violence in the West Bank, and the village of Qusra has been besieged by Israeli settlers for weeks.
    — F. Brinley Bruton, NBC news, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of besieged

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Cite this Entry

“Tormented.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tormented. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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